.did you know craig hodges was blacklisted from the NBA for speaking about political issues in the white house and wearing a dashiki?.

story by STOP MIKE LUPICA

"Craig Hodges was totally blacklisted from the NBA after appearing in Afrocentric gear and acting mad militant at the White House during the Bulls celebratory appearance with Pres. Bush. That sh*t cost him his career, in his own words. Of course, he gets props because he thinks he could still bust Reggie Miller's ass!"

That was based on my recollections of what got Craig Hodges kicked out, and an article I read many years ago - in the Village Voice, I think. They just to have some great sports articles back in the day - very unique looks at big and small sports stories of the time. I decided to do some research, and see what I could find on the topic. Here is what I found:

According to this article from The Guardian: "And Chicago Bulls guard Craig Hodges, who in 1991 was blackballed for having the temerity to speak out against the first Gulf War while on a visit to the White House."

This post by Paul Scott: "...or Chicago Bulls player Craig Hodges who was blacklisted by the NBA for wearing a dashiki to the White House."

I should note now that I lazily wrote "Afrocentric gear" because I was too tired to look up the correct spelling of "dashiki".

This site has the outline of a NY Times article on the topic:
"Recently Revealed: Was Chicago Bulls Player Fired and Blacklisted for Giving President Bush a Letter Concerning Iraq During a White House Visit by the Team After Their First Repeat as NBA Champions?

Craig Hodges, a member of the first two Chicago Bulls Championship NBA basketball teams, claims he was not only fired by the Bulls for speaking out on political issues as an African-American, but also blacklisted by the entire NBA as a result when he could not even get a tryout with any one of the NBA franshices afterwards.

The court case Craig Hodges vs. the National Basketball Association alleges "the owners and operators of the 29 NBA member franchises have participated as co-conspirators" in "blackballing" him from the entire National Basketball Association "because of his outspoken political nature as an African-American man."

Hodges was a 10 year NBA veteran, the last four years with the Bulls, and he played in the majority of the Bulls' games during their second consecutive NBA Championship."

David Zirin chimes in with this comment in his article on Carlos Delgado: "In 1991 Bulls guard Craig Hodges found himself black balled from the NBA after protesting the Gulf War at a visit to George Bush's White House with the champion Chicago Bulls."

Conscious Choice had this to say in 2005 on the topic:

"Most Chicago Bulls fans remember 1991 as the year their team beat the Lakers to win the first of six NBA championships in the '90s. The championship team won an invitation to the White House, where Bulls guard Craig Hodges slipped a letter to President George H.W. Bush Sr. Later Hodges said he found himself blacklisted.

There's some controversy as to exactly what the letter said. Online resources say the letter was mostly about the NBA's poor record of hiring African American coaches. In any event, Hodges said that after he took a stand, his career was soon over."

And finally, The American Prospect wrote this in May 1997:

"A White House congratulatory ceremony for a championship sports team is usually just a big, friendly photo opportunity, filled with the platitudes and gift exchanges typical of such an apolitical celebration. But in 1991, when the National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Chicago Bulls, Craig Hodges, then a backup guards for the Bulls, saw an opportunity for activism.

Instead of presenting Bush with the customary team jersey, Hodges, who wore a dashiki for the occasion, handed the President a letter asking him to be more vigilant in rectifying injustices against African ..."

Whatever the case, it seems that the "crimes" Craig Hodges, the most potent three-point shooter in the NBA at the time, committed are: wearing a dashiki to the White House, and either speaking out for African-Americans, or speaking out against the Iraqi War. Or perhaps a combination of both. The end result is this: his NBA career was cut short in his prime.

This all happened not too long ago, and the commissioner in charge then is still in charge - David Stern. Stern has been a good commissioner to NBA players, including black players, for a myriad of reasons. But he has also made some mistakes in his time, and this might be a prime example of an misstep on his part.